Users of cheaper touch-screens spend less, says survey

The emergence of cheaper touch-screen phones have led to a drop in customers average spending, according to new research by TNS ComTech.

The company, which carried out a consumer survey of 240,000 interviews over the course of one year, found that users of touch-screen phones that are not smartphones are now spending 13% less than this time last year.

In contrast, the spending habits of smartphone users have risen by an average of £5 per month.

Director at TNS ComTech, Paul Moore, said: ‘Although it is all too easy to attract value driven customers with non-smart touch-screen phones, carriers and manufacturers alike need to think long and hard about their handset portfolio and the effect that handset types are having on customer value.

‘They should take care to educate consumers about the differences between operating systems and not simply punt phones that drive volume sales but contribute negatively to value.’